A Rebound In Six Parts
by coldqueen
Summary: It's taken way too long for her to gather enough strength to let him go, but everything comes round again.


**Title: **A Rebound In Six Parts

**Genre: **Television

**Series: **Once Upon A Time

**Characters:** Regina Mills (Evil Queen), Robin Hood, Tom Tucker (as played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and anyone else I want

**Spoilers: **Season Three

**Rating: **PG

**Summary: **It's taken way too long for her to gather enough strength to let him go, but everything comes round again.

* * *

"I'm not mad or sad or numb, so stop looking at me like I'm about to break."

He arched an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms opening his mouth to speak, but Regina cut him off again.

"I have gone through a lot, Robin. Some of it you know, some of it you don't. We had a nice couple of days, but it was only a couple of days. Even I can't fall in love with someone in a few days."

Regina smiled tremulously, stepping closer and cradling his face in gloved hands. "It's Marian, your wife, the mother of your child. You owe it to her to try and make things work, without having to worry about me."

"I care for you very deeply, Regina," he vowed, running his hands down her arms and reaching out to bring her closer. She evaded his grasp, however, and stepped back, pushing down his sleeve and tapping a fingertip against the lion tattoo on his skin.

"I know, and I care about you, too. I care enough to let you go. So go. Go home."

"I don't-"

"Let me try to be good, Robin. It's not natural for me and it is a struggle. I'm trying."

He nodded, clenching his teeth so hard that the vein in his temple throbbed in time with his heartbeat. "Pixie dust doesn't lie."

"Things change."

* * *

"I'm worried about my tree."

"I'm worried about you."

"Snow, we may not be enemies, but don't believe we're friends. I don't want to have this conversation with you."

Snow sighed, rocking fussy Neal back and forth as she paced through the kitchen. "It's been two months, but you're still isolating yourself. I think you need to get out."

"I think I need to hire a gardener. This early cold snap has wreaked havoc with my apple tree. It's September and it hasn't even produced any apples."

"Blue says it's not natural, but can't tell where it's coming from," Snow went along with the change of subject, wisely deciding not to pursue her line of questioning.

Regina sighed, tearing her gaze away from her fruitless garden and glancing over at the princess. She knew her decision to seclude herself was worrying Henry, and by extension Emma and Snow as well. She hadn't wanted to risk running into Robin and Marian and their happy little family, not while still feeling so vulnerable.

"We'll all have dinner tonight, if you're available," Regina decided, reaching out and tugging the upset baby from his mother's arms. "In the meantime, you look exhausted. Go take a nap and I'll take care of Neal."

"Are you sure? I haven't slept in days and Charming has been working all the time with Emma trying to figure out what's going on with the weather..."

"Do it. Now. Your queen orders you," Regina reaffirmed with a snide smile, that turned maternal and gentle as she cooed down at Neal. Much to Snow's amazement the boy quieted in his "grandmother's" arms, blinking big blue eyes up at her sleepily and yawning widely. "I have a few calls to make anyway. You can use the guest bedroom."

Snow was still sound asleep and Neal had just woke up from a much needed nap when the serviceman arrived. Regina cuddled the child to her chest as she opened the door, a shy smile on her face as she gestured for him to enter. She was never sure how one of the townspeople would react when meeting her, some of them had forgiven her and given her a fresh start, some most definitely had not.

Luckily, the gardener was one of the first.

"Granny says you have a tree problem?"

"I've mulched and fostered pollination, but it's not producing any apples. I think it's the weather but I wanted to be sure. It was a gift from my father and I would rather not lose it."

"Okay, where's it at? I'll take a look."

Regina led him through the house, pausing briefly to gesture for him to be as quiet as possible when they were passing the guest room.

"Let me just put him down in his chair and I'll show you the yard, it's too chilly out to take him with us."

Neal reached up to play with the toys that dangled invitingly above his head and she ran her finger over his cherubic cheek before grabbing her coat and opening the door.

"I didn't catch your name," Regina asserted, struggling with her coat as they stepped into the crisp fall air.

"My name is Tommy, um, Tommy Tucker."

"Did I know you in the Enchanted Forest, Tommy?"

"Not likely, your highness. I was...very low on the totem poll."

"Call me Regina. I'm not a queen anymore."

"There are no queens in this world. Technically, there's no royalty at all. No...differences in class."

Regina arched an eyebrow. "You sound approving."

"I like it here," he confessed. "Back in the forest I was just another person on the street," he reached over and tugged at one of the branches of her tree, "but here you can actually make something of yourself even when you start from nothing." He sighed and smiled grimly. "You have a PH problem, though the weather isn't helping. I can fix it though. Still some time to get a few apples before the first frost."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad. How much do I owe you?"

"I haven't fixed the problem yet, so...nothing. We can discuss payment over your first autumn apple pie."

"Regina?" Snow called from the door, opening it just wide enough to call out. "We're going to go ahead and head home. We'll see you at Granny's tonight?"

"I'll help you gather Neal's things," Regina responded, nodding at Tommy who'd begun to root around in his bag and pull out small vials. "If you need anything, I'll be just inside."

He looked up at her and smiled and Regina realized it was a nice smile, slightly crooked but open and friendly in a way she wasn't used to seeing.

The forceful knocking at the door echoed through the house, amplified by the blizzard outside and the snow piling up around the foundations. Regina wrapped herself tighter in the blanket she'd pulled off her bed and struggled to her feet from where she'd curled up in front of the fire, dragging it behind her as she went to answer the door.

"I wonder which one of you idiots is stupid enough to come out in this- Oh. It's you."

Regina shuffled to the side and gestured for Tommy to come in. "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you. I noticed last time I was here you were low on fire wood," he explained, grinning when he saw that she was doing her best impression of a quilted burrito.

"You needn't have bothered. I have magic, I can conjure firewood."

"Sometimes it's nice to have someone else take care of you."

"I wouldn't know, it hasn't happened to me in a long time."

Tom nodded and stepped closer, reaching out and tipping her face upward. He kissed her cupid's bow, the spot where her scar met the lovely red of her lips. "What do you think I've been trying to do these past four months?"

"You took care of my plants, built a greenhouse, and handled small stuff around the house...you like me?"

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

* * *

She allows him to take her to dinner after the artificial winter gives way to real winter. She even lets him invite Henry.

She's forced herself to stop looking for Robin's face whenever she goes out in public.

She lets Tom take care of her, because he wants to, because she wants someone to, and because he's somehow working his way from just being another _someone_ in her life to being_ the_ one in her life.

* * *

It's warm in the spring, nature's reaction to a bitter cold winter. The entire town feels restless, caged inside by temperatures and danger for too long, legs itching to move, senses craving the wind in their hair and the stars above. Restaurants stay open later, central air stays off in favor of open windows, and Snow even arranges for a movie night in the park, though all her movie choices are bland and 'classic'. It's nice to be sitting next to her lover in public, though, son wandering the crowd in search of snacks, stepdaughter frazzled by trying to keep things organized and practically tossing her son into Regina's lap to go in search of her daughter and husband.

"You're good with kids," Tom noted as he hands her a glass of wine.

"I like them. They're easier to handle than adults," Regina agreed, sipping her wine slowly before handing it back in favor of cuddling Neal closer.

"Have you thought about having one? I know you adopted Henry because the curse kept everything frozen in time, but...we're not frozen anymore."

A salacious smile slid across her lips, her eyes teasingly bright. "Are you offering to knock me up, Mr. Tucker?"

"Maybe after you become Mrs. Tucker," he offered, grinning at her and tweaking Neal's nose with a small chuckle.

"No proposing in the park, Tom."

"Yes, dear."

* * *

"Regina, it's Robin. I know you don't want to see or talk to me, but I just wanted to say...I miss you. I miss your face, and your hair, and your smile. I miss the way you smell, the way you curl your hand under your pillow as you sleep. Just...please. Agree to see me. Just once more." She reached for the delete button but can't make herself press it. Tom was sleeping upstairs, Henry was staying over at Emma's, and she'd noticed the blinking light of the message machine as she'd gone for a glass of water.

"Please."

She wanted to delete it, but her finger just hovered over the button, uncertain.


End file.
